Man Arrested in Attack on Officer
A 20-year-old Ventura man was arrested Thursday morning for allegedly assaulting an off-duty Port Hueneme police officer with a crowbar during a road rage incident.
Officer John Brisslinger was driving onto the Ventura Freeway from Ventura Road when a car abruptly stopped in front of the officer’s vehicle, police said.
Kinchasa Achilles Rex got out of the car in front, took the crowbar from his trunk and started swinging at the officer, who was standing outside his vehicle, said Port Hueneme Police Cmdr. Fernando Estrella. Brisslinger was struck by the crowbar and slightly injured, Estrella said.
Brisslinger disarmed Rex and held him until other officers arrived, police said. A witness telephoned 911, and California Highway Patrol officers in the area responded to the call, Estrella said.
Brisslinger’s 2-year-old daughter, who was inside the car, was unhurt.
Estrella did not know whether Brisslinger, who was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, identified himself as a police officer during the altercation.
Authorities refused to say what led up to the altercation except to say that Brisslinger was a victim of road rage. Rex remained jailed Thursday night on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer.
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